Friday, 24 April 2015

Recently, I dipped back into the 1970s archives and looked at early work on play for children in hospital. Information unearthed was about the importance of play, the role of play workers/leaders and why play workers needed to be established as a paid profession as well as allocation of space for play. Silvia Nash outlined a 1970s view of the role of play workers who have a primary concern for the emotional needs and development of the child. The play worker helps and encourages parents and families to support and participate in the care of their child acting as a buffer. Play workers explain treatments to children to fit their understanding and support nursing and medical staff. In the UK, the National Association of Hospital Play Staff has documented milestones celebrating 50 years of work.

A new beginning for the profession in Australia took place in 2015. The evolution of the hospital play profession in Australia was celebrated during Child Life Therapy week including the launch of a new name and website. Look to the Association of Child Life Therapists Australia as the peak body of health care professionals specialising in child development, who utilize their knowledge and skills to work with children in the hospital…. ACLTA has produced a short history of hospital play in Australia.

Monday, 6 April 2015

It can be hard for a teenager when her peers move from the
excitement of “can I sign your cast” to “it’s really going to hurt when they
take it off”?

Fresh out of a visit to hospital with my daughter yesterday,
I’m reminded of the importance of feelings. It seems all too obvious, that a
trip to hospital will result in feelings of anxiety and fear.

Photo from: http://www.clipartpanda.com

Yet my thirteen year old had shown stoicism from the outset
of breaking her arm. She picked herself up and trudged across the sporting
field asking for her water bottle. Meanwhile I hastened to keep up, asking her
to slow down. Over the weeks she coped with waits at two hospital emergency
departments, an adult’s hospital and a children’s hospital, then repeated
waiting at orthopaedic and x-ray clinic queues. She had it down pat and knew
where to go and what to do, seeing herself as one of the many other children
waiting for treatment.

There were certainly challenges along the way, worst being
no food or drink and for me watching the pain under gas as her arm was
manipulated and put back into shape. Once again I had to hasten to keep up as
she jumped up after the procedure to head off to make an appointment at the
orthopaedic clinic. The only sign of something being wrong was the cast from
wrist and over bent elbow.

Later that night the pain and challenge of sleeping with a
heavy bent elbow came. This was followed by challenges of dressing, washing,
undertaking school work with her weak arm and carrying a heavy bag which included books and a laptop.
Transport on the bus with kids pushing and pulling also led to pain and
concern. Despite all this she managed to walk, run and dance her way through
the weeks.

Photo from:
http://www.kleurplaten.nl/kleurplaten/12308.gif

So where in all this resiliency do fearful feelings occur?
It can be hard for a teenager when her peers move from the excitement of “can I
sign your cast” to “it’s really going to hurt when they take it off” and so the
stories begin.

I wasn’t prepared for my daughter’s sleepless night that preceded
the day when the cast came off or for the impact of some of the
“kid-fabricated” stories.As we waited
one last time in the waiting room she was distracted by the funny things around
her, a parent talking to their young child about what was on TV, “look there’s
a penguin with a rainbow coloured beak”, no it’s a puffin she thought! Just
when things weren’t looking good she was called up. One boy had cheered earlier
when his name was called, adults chuckled, a moment of relief.

Photo from:
http://www.123rf.com/clipart-vector/zombie_arm.html

What made the difference to my daughter’s trepidation were
the explanations health professionals gave. Speaking to her and demonstrating
the procedure of having the cast taken off made all the difference. Phrases
like “what you can expect”, “what you might expect” were really helpful. She
even smiled as the cast came off. She was glad her arm was not green.

Being “armed” with information makes all the difference. The
first test of this was as she reluctantly passed by the swings on our way to
the car. It was great to know that she understood and can resist the temptation
to hop on a swing, bike or other moving object.

How can books and
resources help?

As parents, we won’t always know what our children are
feeling. The AWCH
library holds books to help adolescents and children understand what they
are feeling. There are books written to help children identify and manage how
they are feeling so they can develop self-esteem and coping skills.

Nowadays there are
plenty of online resources to help children and families prepare for hospital
experiences, an example for young children is the child-friendly free app Okee
in medical imaging. This fun
app will help young children learn all about medical imaging and feel relaxed
and supported.